


Reconcile

by Fanofeverything101



Series: Prince of Gotham [1]
Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:02:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanofeverything101/pseuds/Fanofeverything101
Summary: Even though the last time they talked, they had a massive fight that resulted in Dick quitting and leaving Gotham, Bruce and Dick still cared about each other and that wouldn't change. *One-shots of Dick and Bruce slowly reconciling after season 1 of Titans. Written before season 2 aired and is not following that plot at all. Dick and Bruce are like father and son in this story.*
Series: Prince of Gotham [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747042
Comments: 8
Kudos: 78





	1. Checking In

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Titans fandom. This story is actually a series of one-shots about Dick and Bruce slowly reconciling before leading up to a different story that I am working on.  
> First thing you all should know, is that I’m no where near an expert on the DC Universe, most of my knowledge is from the little research I did, the few movies I’ve watched, the few comics I’ve read, and the questions I’ve asked my friends who are more knowledgeable about Batman and the Robins. So some stuff might not be accurate, but then again, this show is taking things is a bit of a different direction than the comics and this is fanfiction after all. I will try my best to keep things as canon as possible, but I’m not guaranteeing anything.  
> This first chapter takes place after season 1, after they’ve already defeated Trigon. This was written before season 2 started airing so this story and the following story, Prince of Gotham, does not follow season 2 at all. Hope you all like it!

Dick stood in the doorway of one of the bedrooms in Bruce’s safe house, looking at the figure with purple hair passed out on the bed. After defeating Trigon, the group which now consisted of him, Rachel, Gar, Kory, Donna, Hank and Dawn, the latter two arriving a little late to the fight, but just in time, they made their way back to the apartment they had stayed in before Angela told them about her house and took them there. He was actually surprised when they got there that the door opened for him when he did the eye scan. Apparently, Bruce changed the locks again. In spite of the fact that Dick didn’t like staying in Bruce’s place again, they couldn’t stay at Angela’s anymore, nor did anyone really want to. The house had been partially destroyed in the fight and Angela had died trying to defend Trigon.

Rachel had barely said a word since the fight to anyone, so they could only guess how she was feeling. Anger, betrayal, pain, all due to her parents for wanting to use her to destroy the world and turning against her when she didn’t join them and tried to stop the demon. Loss, because for a moment, she thought she had both of her parents, she thought she had a real family and now they were gone. Dick tried to comfort her, they all did, but she didn’t really respond at all. She was still in too much shock. So, he decided to let her sleep.

“How’s she doing?” Dick turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw Dawn coming towards him, a concerned expression on her face.

“About as well as can be expected. I think it’s mostly shock though.” Dick answered, looking back over Rachel.

“You’re probably right.” Dawn said as she came to a stop beside him. After a few seconds of silence, she added, “Don’t worry, she’s a tough kid. And she’s got all of us. She’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.” Dick replied.

Another period of silence fell on the two vigilantes for a moment, but Dick soon felt a pair of eyes watching him. Looking over to the side, he saw Dawn watching him with a half smile on her face and he asked, “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just a little strange to see you all, paternal, considering last time I saw you, you wanted to leave Rachel with me and Hank.” Dawn said. Dick didn’t respond to that. That memory felt as though it happened a lifetime ago, and done by another person.

The former Robin wasn’t exactly sure how he ended up here, becoming the leader of their group of misfits. There had even been times he felt a little bit like he was the Dad and Rachel and Gar were his kids. The fact that he tried to leave Rachel, even though he did truly think she’d be safer and happier with Hank and Dawn, made him want to kick himself. He knew there was no way he could leaver her, or Gar, or Kory again. It also made him start to think of Bruce.

Dick never really thought what it had been like for the billionaire when he took him in all those years ago after his parents died. For the first few weeks, it had been awkward and tension filled. Dick didn’t want to live in a mansion with a stranger, he had wanted to stay with the circus. It was all he knew. And he wanted to find the man who murdered his parents. He didn’t try to get to know his new guardian and Bruce didn’t seem all that eager to try and get to know him either. The two kept their distance from each other.

It all changed though after he stole Bruce’s car and found a note in his room telling him that the billionaire could teach him a better way. It was then Dick learned that Bruce was Batman and he was offered the position of Batman’s partner. After Dick became Robin, they started to grow closer. There was still a bit of a wall between them though, neither really knowing how to cross it. Dick wondered now as he looked back on it, if Rachel would say the same thing about him.

“You okay Dick?” The cop was pulled of his reverie when he heard Dawn’s voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.” Dick answered without really giving any details. However, details seemed to be what the blonde was looking for.

“About?” Dawn prompted him to continue.

Knowing that his ex probably wasn’t going to drop it, Dick sighed and said, “Bruce.”

“Really? Why?” Dawn was a little surprised. Last time she saw Dick, she had asked about what happened between him and his mentor, but Dick never gave her a clear answer, nor did he seem like he wanted to talk or even think about the man who took him in.

“No reason.” Dick replied, then as he turned around, he told her, “I’m going to go to bed. See you in the morning.”

Without another word, Dick walked away, heading towards another part of the large apartment. If Dawn wanted to continue the conversation, she wisely didn’t try. He didn’t want to talk about why Bruce was on his mind. He didn’t want to talk about the dream/nightmare Trigon put in his mind, and because of how Dawn was in it, he most definitely didn’t want to talk about it with her. That would be awkward and weird on so many levels.

Dick didn’t head to his room. Instead, he walked towards Gar’s bedroom which was just beside his. When they first moved into the safe house, Dick tried to pick a room that was between the two teenagers so he could keep a closer eye on them. At first, he thought Kory would take the room on the other side of Rachel’s but she stayed with him. Due to lack of rooms now that there were a lot of them, the alien was still staking with him while Donna took what would’ve been her room, as they were no longer together in any way, and Hank and Dawn took the last one.

Dick quickly and quietly peaked into Gar’s room, then closed the door when he saw the green-haired boy was safe and sound asleep. He did the same thing with Kory, who was also fast asleep before he walked out onto the small balcony by the living room. Despite the late hour, there was still a steady flow of traffic, not that that surprised him. He grew up in a big city and big cities were rarely ever quiet, even in the dead of night. He knew without being there that it was the same in Gotham and he was fairly certain that Batman was watching his city’s traffic as well.

Ever since they had defeated Trigon, Dick couldn’t stop thinking about the false reality the demon put him in. It was everything he wanted and everything he didn’t at the same time. When he quit being Robin and left Gotham, he wanted to have a normal life. He no longer wanted to be a vigilante. He wanted a regular job, maybe meet a nice girl, get married and have some kids. Trigon’s dream gave him that. But he also wanted to, eventually, make things right with Bruce.

There was still so much rage inside of him, he knew that. After what happened in the asylum, he knew that it was actually anger at himself, but at the same time, there was still some anger he felt towards the man who took him in after the death of his parents. In so many ways, Bruce had become a father figure in his life and what did he do in the messed up world Trigon made him live in? He killed him. He put his foot on Bruce’s chest and crushed it. He killed his mentor, his guardian, his father. If he didn’t even try to make things right with Bruce, if he let that fury he had stay in him, is that what he would end up doing? Would he actually end up killing him?

Dick looked away from the traffic below and back towards the doors, knowing that two young teenagers were still inside. He still didn’t know much about their past. He knew Rachel had grown up with the woman she thought was her mother being terrified of her, but she still had a relatively normal childhood. Or at least, as normal as it could be considering her circumstances. Gar was more of mystery. He knew that he had gotten sick and that the Chief saved him and he could turn into animals, but that was about it. He suspected that he might have been abused due to the way he would act sometimes and the glimpse of fear in the boy’s eyes whenever Chief was brought up, but he didn’t know for sure.

He wasn’t exactly sure how or when it happened, but somehow, their alliance turned into them becoming a team, maybe even a family. And somehow, he had become the leader of it. It was more than that though, at least between him and the teenagers. Despite how small the age difference was between them, there couldn’t be more than 10 years in between them, he had become the ‘Dad’. A part of him wanted to deny it, but he had seen the way Gar and Rachel looked at him, the way they sometimes clung to him, the way they listened to him. He was becoming their father figure and that terrified them.

He was only 12 when his parents died. It’s not like he was watching them carefully, trying to learn how to be a parent for when he actually became one. And Bruce, well, he was Bruce. Dick knew deep down that the man did try his best, but he was not a good role model in the parent department. And if he did follow in Bruce’s footsteps, would Rachel and Gar end up filled with as much anger as he was? He didn’t want that for them, he didn’t want that for anyone. But how could he make sure that he didn’t instill it in them if it was still inside of him?

The answer was simple. He couldn’t, nor did he want to. He had the rage in him for so long, he could barely remember what it was like without it. He thought that when he killed Zucco that it would leave, but it didn’t. Instead, it was directed at Bruce and himself. And while Dick still wasn’t sure how to deal with the rage that he felt towards himself, there was something he could do about Bruce.

Without another thought, Dick pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and scrolled through the contact list. He stopped when he got to Bruce Wayne’s number. Could he really just call him up after a year of no contact? Would Bruce even pick up, especially if he’s out as Batman? Would he even want to talk to him? What would he say if he answered?

After a few seconds of pondering what could happen if he actually called him, Dick scrolled up to a different number and called that instead. Two rings was all it took before and elderly British voice  
answered, _“Hello?”_

“Alfred, it’s me.” Dick replied, feeling a sudden burst of emotion at the familiar voice. In the dream Trigon gave him, Alfred was dead, but hearing that the man who was a friend and almost a grandfather to him was alive filled him with relief.

_“Master Grayson? Is everything alright?”_ Alfred asked with a concerned tone.

“Yeah, everything’s okay. Now.” Dick answered, remembering how just this morning, there was a chance the whole world could’ve been covered in darkness and destroyed.

_“‘Now?’”_ Alfred emphasized the last word the former Robin said, his accented voice becoming even more concerned than it already was.

“Had a bit of a problem earlier, but it’s all been dealt with.” Dick somewhat explained. He wasn’t really in the mood to tell the older man what all happened yet, or ever. There was no need to worry the elder since they were all okay.

_“Sounds rather serious. Are you sure you’re alright?”_ Alfred repeated his earlier question.

“I’m sure Alfred. Trust me, we’re all okay.” Dick responded before he added, “I just, wanted to hear a familiar voice.”

It hadn’t really occurred to him until the butler repeated his question that the man was probably thinking that he needed help or was injured or something. After all, that was the care the last time he called. That realization caused the feeling of guilt to well up inside his stomach. After he left the Manor, he waited a couple of weeks before he called the butler for the first time. He soon started calling him regularly for a little while, then stopped. It had started becoming too hard to keep in contact with anyone from the life that he was trying to leave behind, even though Alfred had no part in the fight between him and Bruce.

“I just wanted to, to check in. We haven’t properly talking at all in a while.” Dick broke the silence that fell over them.

_“No, that we have not.”_ Alfred agreed, his lighter tone telling Dick that the elderly man was now smiling which caused a grin of his own to spread across his face.

“So, how’s life in Gotham?” Dick then asked, moving to sit in one of the chairs that were pushed against the wall.

_“Quite the same to be honest. Though this morning we did have a massive thunderstorm. The worst Gotham has ever had. Several parts of the city is having problems with flooding.”_ Alfred informed him.

“Yeah, I head about that. Everyone’s okay though, right?” Dick then questioned, worried about all the people he knew who still lived in the city he grew up in.

_“Besides one causality, yes. A poor pedestrian was killed when a telephone pole fell on him. But other than that, everyone seems to be alright.”_ Alfred responded with a reassuring tone.

“That’s good.” Dick then paused, wondering if he should ask about Bruce, but decided to approach a slightly safer topic, “So, how’s Jason doing?”

_“Master Jason is doing quiet well, though is a little disappointed that his usual nighttime activities have been put on hold in order to help the citizens of Gotham with the flooding and damage done during the storm.”_ Alfred informed him.

Dick chuckled a little before he replied, “Yeah, he totally would. I would be too actually.”

_“Indeed.”_ Alfred said with a small chuckle of his own.

“So, how is, um, is he…” Dick broke off, finding it difficult to even bring up Bruce’s name even though he had done it several times when talking to Donna and Dawn.

_“Master Bruce is doing quite well.”_ Alfred told him, knowing exactly who Dick was trying to ask about.

“Good. I’m glad.” Dick responded sincerely. Despite being on bad terms, Dick didn’t want anything bad to happen to Bruce. He knew that for a fact after he woke up from the messed up reality Trigon put him in.

For a long moment, the two were completely quiet, neither really knowing what to say next. Dick couldn’t really think of something else to talk about and he was so tired after everything that happened today he couldn’t think that straight anymore. And he was pretty sure that Alfred was staying quiet because he didn’t want to bring up any topic that would make Dick uncomfortable or upset. But after another minute or two of silence, Dick found he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

“Well, it’s late. I should probably let you go and make sure that the rich idiot gets at least an hour of sleep tonight.” Dick said, his tone light and joking.

_“Yes, though it will be difficult.”_ Alfred told him with a type of dejected tone that told the young man that the Brit was joking, though only slightly.

“Goodnight Alfred. I’ll talk to you soon.” Dick promised him.

_“I look forward to it. Goodnight Master Richard.”_ Alfred said.

Dick then hung up the phone and lowered it from his ear. He didn’t put it away though. Instead, he held it tightly in his hand and stared at it. He felt a lot better after talking to the butler who was actually more like a grandfather to him, and hearing that both Bruce and Jason were okay was a great relief. Nobody was sure how much damage Trigon had done yet, but all the people he cared about were okay.

“Dick?” The detective’s head snapped up in surprise and found Donna standing in the doorway, “What were you doing?”

“I um, I was just, checking in with Alfred. Wanted to make sure that he, Bruce and Jason were okay.” Dick answered her.

Donna stared at him in a way that made him feel like he was a piece of evidence she was studying. He hated when she did that and the photographer was well aware of that. Beginning to feel a need to explain further or defend himself, Dick opened his mouth to say something, but Donna beat him to it.

“Good. Just because you’re no longer Robin doesn’t mean you can’t make up with your family.” She said with a smile.

“I didn’t actually talk to Bruce though. I couldn’t even say his name.” Dick confided, feeling a little ashamed by that. He didn’t feel a need to hide it from Donna though. They had known each other since they were kids. She was probably one of the few people who knew him the best.

Donna quickly crossed the distance between them and put her hand on his shoulder. She waited until he looked up at her before she whispered encouraging, “Baby steps are still steps. It’ll get easier, better, with time.”

Dick didn’t say anything to that. He remembered when she quit being Wonder Girl. He had still kept in touch with her and knew that things were a little tense between her and Diana. He didn’t know if it had gotten better between them. He hoped it did, he couldn’t really imagine Diana being upset with Donna for long about her choice to stop being her sidekick and to just be Donna Troy.

“Come on bird boy. You need to get some sleep too. Let’s go.” Donna said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. Dick didn’t protest at all. He was pretty sure that if he stayed sitting in the chair any longer, he’d pass out right there. So, he allowed his friend to lead him back inside. She was right, while calling Alfred was only a baby step, it was still a step in the direction of reconciling with Bruce. Maybe soon, he’d be able to take a bigger step.


	2. Christmas Miracles (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the show never explicitly says what season it is, when exactly Dick left Bruce and Gotham and when Jason joined up, so in this story, Dick left Gotham before Christmas, Bruce found Jason about a month after and season one of Titans started around October. Also, I know that in the comics, or at least, some of them, Bruce never actually adopted Dick, but in this story he did. I hope you all like this chapter!

Rachel didn’t really know what to expect for the holidays when December rolled around. She, Gar, Dick, Kory, and Donna had only been together for only about two months and this was going to be their first Christmas together. Back when she was living with Melissa, they didn’t really celebrate Christmas that much compared to other families. They would get a small tree that just went up to her shoulders even though they didn’t have many ornaments to put on it, and they baked cookies and exchanged a few gifts. Three at the most, but that was about it. It wasn’t much, but is was still special to her.

When Rachel asked Gar what he did for Christmas, he told her about how Larry would cook a giant feast and how they exchanged gifts that they either made by themselves or they would order them online and have Chief pick them up as he didn’t want them to go out in public. It was Gar who was the most excited about Christmas coming up, but Rachel wasn’t sure if they would be celebrating at all. Dick had become their legal guardian after the defeat of Trigon and Donna did move in with them to help out, and Dawn and Hank moved into the apartment just below theirs, but they weren’t technically a family, even though that was what she considered them to be.

She wanted to, but she never asked any of the adults if they were going to celebrate or not. It wasn’t until she and Gar came home from school one day and found boxes of Christmas decorations out. It was then that Dick, Kory, Donna, Hank, and Dawn told them that of course they would be celebrating. Apparently they didn’t realize the teenagers thought that they wouldn’t. What made Gar and Rachel even happier and more excited was that all of the adults, particularly Dick, got Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day off and would be home to celebrate with them. Dick had been working a lot with the San Francisco police department as their lead detective the last few months so they were all happy that he would be home for Christmas.

As Rachel ran through the hospital hallway with Donna, Gar, Dawn, and Hank though, she knew that that might not be the case anymore. Only 20 minutes earlier, they got the phone call that could change their plans, that could change their entire lives. The call from the police department that informed them that Dick had been shot on duty and was now in the hospital.

After the initial shock and passing the information to Hank and Dawn, who weren’t with them when they found out, they all rushed to the hospital, breaking several speeding laws as they did so.

Upon reaching the desk, Donna immediately said, “We’re looking for a detective, Dick Grayson. He was shot and was brought here.”

“And you are?” The nurse asked, looking up from her computer screen to give them her attention.

“We’re his friends, and these two,” Donna gestured to Gar and Rachel, “are his wards. He’s their legal guardian.”

“Okay. Just give me one moment please.” The nurse said before looking back at the computer screen. Kory looked like she was about to start yelling at the lady and burn the computer that was taking her attention off the matter at hand, but luckily the nurse turned back to them and said, “He’s in surgery at the moment. I will make sure that the doctors know that you are here. Do either of you have the authority to make medical decisions regarding your friend?”

“Um, no, not that we’re aware of.” Donna admitted after glancing at Dawn, Hank, and Kory. The two adult humans had shaken their heads when the nurse asked that while Kory just looked confused.

The nurse quickly glanced back at the screen and informed them, “Unfortunately, according to our records Mr. Grayson does not have anyone written down for us to contact to make any medical decisions if he can’t for himself. Does he have any family? Parents, siblings?”

“No, he doesn’t. He’s an only child and his parents died when he was a kid.” Donna replied before asking, “Is he that badly injured that he needs someone like that here?”

“So far the only information that I have is that there was more than one wound and he was rushed into emergency surgery. His condition is listed as critical. So, it would probably be good to have someone who can make medical decisions for him here.”

“But, he doesn’t have any family. Just us.” The nurse paused when Donna said that, her voice filled with desperation and fear throwing her a little. A sympathetic look came across her face as the nurse looked over the group who had come with Donna, specifically at the two teenagers.

After a minute of doing that, she looked back at the computer screen the back and them and said, “If one of you were put on his chart then you could, but there’s no name there whatsoever.”

Donna silently cursed Dick in her head before she said, “Okay. Just, let us know if anything changes?”

“I will. The waiting room is just over there.” The nurse responded and pointed to the left where there was a set of doors, one of which was opened, revealing a row of empty chairs.

“Thank you.” Donna told the nurse, then turned around to face the group, her hand going to her jacket pocket to grab her phone.

“You guys go to the waiting room.” The former Wonder Girl ordered the two teens and three adults as she pulled her phone out and started pulling up her contact list.

“What are you going to do?” Kory asked, effectively getting everyone’s attention. It was the first time she had spoken since they got the news.

When she heard that Dick was in the hospital, she had fallen into a stunned silence, which didn’t really surprise anyone. Even though Dick and Kory had decided to put their ‘relationship’ on hold while they both figured out who they were, Kory with her real identity and Dick with who he was without being Robin, it didn’t take long for them to get back together. Within a few months they were back together and closer than ever. It did weird out Rachel and Gar a little bit at the beginning due to an awkward incident that they refused to talk about, but it soon seemed to make their family complete. They were like the Mom and Dad of their makeshift family.

“I got a phone call I need to make.” Donna answered without giving any details and started walking away from them. Kori gently ushered Rachel and Gar towards the waiting room with Hank following them, but Dawn stared at the former Wonder Girl for a moment, then walked over to her.

“Donna.” The dark haired young woman looked up from her phone as the blonde came to stand in front of her and asked, “Are you calling who I think you’re calling?”

“He’s Dick’s adoptive father Dawn. If anything happens, we need him here to help us. He’s the only one who can.” Donna replied, knowing exactly who Dawn was talking about.

“But Dick wouldn’t want us too.” Dawn objected. While Dick still hasn’t said anything about what all happened between him and Bruce, they had been doing their best to keep away from that topic and respect his privacy and calling Bruce and having him coming to the hospital was the opposite of that. Dawn knew that if Dick found out that they called him, that if they met face to face, it would most likely not end well, at all.

“Do you have any better ideas in case something does go wrong? If something does happen to Dick?” Donna asked. She wasn’t stupid, she knew how getting Bruce involved called really backfire on them, but if anything happened to Dick because they were too afraid to call his adoptive father, she’d never forgive herself. Dawn, clearly not having any idea what else they could do, shook her head. With a resigned sigh, the blonde turned and walked away.

Donna then looked back down at the contact list she had pulled up on her phone and as she pressed the call button and lifted it to her ear, she muttered, “Bruce you better pick up.”

**2018TITANS2018**

With a sigh/groan, Bruce Wayne walked into the Manor, rubbing his temples with the thumb and first finger on his right hand. It had been a long and frustrating week with both his job as CEO of Wayne Enterprises and his job as Batman. There was a massive deal that he was trying to get with another company and there was another breakout in Arkham Asylum. He didn’t have time to rest, even though he’d like to.

“Welcome home Master Bruce. I trust your day was productive.” Alfred greeted him as he walked towards Bruce.

“Not as much as I would’ve liked.” Bruce answered. Taking off his coat and handing it to his butler, he asked, “Where’s Jason?”

“In the game room sir. He retired there once he returned from school.” Alfred informed him, hanging the coat on the coatrack. Bruce raised an eyebrow when he heard that.

“You mean he hasn’t done his homework?” Bruce wasn’t surprised that Jason would wait until the last minute to finish his schoolwork, but both he and Alfred did their best to make sure that the teenager did as soon as possible. And Jason knew that he had to keep his grades up if he wanted to go out on patrol.

“Today was the last day of school before Christmas break Master Bruce.” Alfred reminded him.

“Right, right.” Bruce mumbled, having forgotten that the winter holiday was only a week away. Looking around the foyer and seeing the lack of decorations and remembering now that no other rooms were decorated, he made a mental note to have Alfred bring out the boxes of Christmas decorations tomorrow. Maybe he should take part of the day off tomorrow to help Alfred and Jason decorate, maybe pick up a tree. This would be Jason’s first Christmas with them, they should try to make it special for him.

“Has Jason eaten already?” Bruce wondered, knowing that it was almost 8 o’clock.

“Yes he has sir, and your dinner is currently in the dining room.” The butler answered.

“I’ll be right there. Just going to check on Jason first.” Alfred nodded then headed towards the kitchen while the Dark Knight went over to the game room.

As Bruce entered the game room, he spotted Jason sitting on the couch playing a video game of some kind. It looked as though zombies were involved but he didn’t know what game it was. He never was one for playing video games, even when he was a child. The last time he had, he had only done so because Dick talked him into it. It had been fun, spending time with the boy. He briefly wondered what Dick was doing right now. Probably Christmas decorating. It was his first partner’s favourite season after all.

The billionaire quickly pushed the thought of his estranged ward out of his mind and approached the teenager, “How was school today?”

While anyone else would’ve jumped or flinched in surprise by the silent and sudden approach, Jason didn’t, having gotten used to it after living with Bruce for almost a complete year. Without pausing the game and still staring at the large TV screen, Jason answered, “Boring, as usual. We didn’t even do anything today.”

“Well, I might have some good news for you.” That got Jason to quickly pause his game and turn his head to face his guardian. Bruce grinned slightly at Jason’s eager yet suspicious expression before he continued, “I was thinking of coming home early from work tomorrow and having Alfred get out the Christmas decorations. We could also go pick out a tree and start decorating.”

“Seriously? That’d be awesome!” Jason exclaimed with an excited smile, making Bruce’s own grin widen a little.

“Alright then. I’ll tell Alfred and cancel my afternoon for tomorrow.” Bruce responded. He started walking towards the door but then stopped and added, “You should get some rest. We’re going on patrol in about two hours and it’s always busier right before Christmas.”

“You got it boss man.” Jason agreed, then started to save the game he had paused so could pick up right where he left off the next time he played his video game.

Bruce again turned to walk out of the room but only made it three steps before his cell phone started ringing. He sighed, this time out loud, and pulled the device from his pocket. The dark-haired man’s brows furrowed in confusion and a little concern when he saw Donna Troy’s name flashing on his screen. After several missions and meetings, especially between Wonder Girl and Robin, he allowed her to be made aware of his secret identity and even gave her his number in case of an emergency, but she never needed to. And considering that she had quit being Wonder Girl a while ago he wasn’t expecting her to use it now.

Pressing the accept button, he put the phone to his ear and said, “This is Bruce.”

 _“It’s Donna. I need you to come to the hospital in San Francisco as fast as you can. Dick’s been shot.”_ It only took her four seconds to say that and only another two for Bruce to register the words as his stomach dropped down to his feet.

“I’m on my way.” Bruce replied, then hung up and rushed down to the library to head down to the Batcave where the Batplane was. It was one of the fastest planes in the world and he needed to get to Dick as quick as possible. He could only hope that his ward, his son, was okay.

**2018TITANS2018**

Rachel leaned against Kory, who was sitting in the chair right beside her with her arm around the girl’s shoulders. Sitting on Rachel’s other side was Gar, who was as still and silent as a statue, looking like a lost child. Dawn was next to him, her hand rubbing his back comfortingly but Gar didn’t even seem aware of it. Hank was beside Dawn, doing his best to remain still and patient when all he really wanted to do was storm over to any nurse or doctor that he could find and demand some answers. Donna, after making her phone call, came to sit beside Kory and joined in the silence. That was almost three hours ago.

“Do you think Dick’s going to be okay?” Gar’s voice was extremely quiet but it sounded like yelling in the silent waiting room.

“He’s a lot tougher than he looks. I’m sure he’ll be just fine Gar.” Dawn answered him with a reassuring tone.

“Yeah, he will. I’ll make sure of it.” Rachel spoke up, her voice barely audible. It took a minute for everyone to understand what she was talking about, but once they did, they all looked over at her.

“Rachel, you can’t.” Donna told her.

“Sure I can. I just need to get into his room, and then I can,”

“No you can’t Rachel.” Dawn cut her off. Once the black and purple haired teenager turned to look at her, the blonde continued, “We’re in a hospital. If you heal Dick of whatever injuries he has, the doctors will get suspicious.”

“Not to mention there are security cameras. If one of them picked up you using your powers, it will not end well.” Hank chimed in. Rachel stared at them for a minute, then nodded, knowing that they were right even though she didn’t want them to be.

“It’ll be okay Rachel. You’ve got to believe that.” Dawn said. Before Rachel could respond to that, Hank gently elbowed Dawn and said, “Guys, look.”

The group turned their heads to see a man dressed in a dark trench coat and a wrinkled suit walking straight towards the desk. His black hair had clearly been styled at some point but was messy now. That was about all they could see of him as only one of the doors to the waiting room was open. He looked vaguely familiar to Rachel, but she couldn’t remember where from and why. Hank, Dawn, and Donna seemed to recognize him though because they all stared at him while Donna stood up and called out, “Bruce?”

The man, Bruce, snapped his head in their direction, his blue eyes locking on their presence instantly. That’s when Rachel realizes who he is. It’s Bruce Wayne, owner and CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Gotham’s billionaire and playboy. And, the person who took guardianship over one Dick Grayson after his parents died. She’s stunned that he’s here as Dick has not once mention the man to her, but considering the circumstances, what the nurse had said and the mysterious phone call Donna had made, it all starts to make sense to her. After all, who better to get answers from a doctor about a patient than the patient’s legal guardian who also just happens to be rich enough to buy the entire hospital?

“Donna.” Bruce faltered slightly at the sight of the entire group, clearly not having expected them but quickly recovered himself, “How’s Dick? What did the doctor say?”

“We don’t know yet. I think he’s still in surgery. The nurse only told us that there was more than one wound, that he was rushed to emergency surgery and is in critical condition, but that was three hours ago.” Donna filled him in as everyone else got to their feet and walked up behind the photographer. As they did so, Bruce and Donna looked over at them.

“Bruce, you remember Hank and Dawn.” Donna reintroduced the two vigilantes before she moved onto the others, “And this is Dick’s girlfriend Kori, and this is Gar and,”

“Rachel.” The youngest member of their ‘family’ cut Donna off as she took a step forward and held out her hand. Instinctively, Bruce raised his one hand and grabbed hers and shook it.

The second there was physical contact, Rachel was hit with a myriad of emotions coming from the older man. Fear, anger, worry, guilt, regret all washed over her which surprised the teenager given  
Bruce’s seemingly calm exterior. Within those emotions, images also flashed across her eyes. She saw his figure drape his large coat over a boy’s shoulders, a bot she that she knew to be Dick when he was younger. Then, she saw Bruce sitting in a chair beside what looked like a hospital bed, though she was certain that it wasn’t an actual hospital, and lying on the bed, attached to several machines and an oxygen mask, was Dick, when he was younger. The image also quickly faded and was replaced by another. Dick was an adult in this one, and an angry one at that. It looked like he and Bruce were arguing loudly, and then Dick walked away.

Rachel was pulled back to reality when Bruce pulled his hand away, and she quickly dropped her own so he wouldn’t get suspicious. From the look on his face though, he hadn’t noticed. His attention was back on Donna as he said, “I’m going to find the doctor, or a nurse and get some answers.”

Before anyone could respond, he turned and walked away, leaving the group standing there to watch. As he walked away, Gar went over to Rachel and asked, “Rachel, what did you see?”

“Fear, guilt, and a lot of regret.” Rachel quietly admitted, her dark eyes remaining on the retreating figure of Dick’s guardian, left with more questions than she had before he had arrived.

**2018TITANS2018**

“Excuse me.” Bruce said as he walked back over to the desk as a nurse also approached the desk, “My name’s Bruce Wayne. I’m Dick Grayson’s legal guardian. I heard that he was here.”

“Oh, hello. I’m Sandra.” The nurse introduced herself with a smile.

“Nice to meet you. Can you tell me anything about Dick?” Bruce quickly put the attention back on his ward, not having the patience to deal with the possibility of someone trying to flirt with him when his son had been shot.

“Let me check.” Sandra told him, then went over to the computer and started typing. After a minute, she looked back up at him and said, “It appears he’s still in surgery. There’s no other information.”

“Can you go find a doctor or something and ask? Please?” Bruce pleaded, needing to know Dick’s condition after spending three hours wondering if Dick was okay.

“I’ll see what I can find out, but no guarantees Mr. Wayne.” Sandra said with a smile, then turned around and walked away. While Bruce didn’t like his public persona of being a charming, rich, playboy, he couldn’t deny that it was very handy on some occasions.

Apparently, very handy as only two minutes after she had left, she returned with a man, also dressed in scrubs, but wearing a white doctor’s coat.

“Hello Mr. Wayne. I’m Dr. Miller. I did the operation on Richard Grayson.” The doctor said as he approached him and held his hand out.

“How is my son?” Bruce immediately asked while he shook the man’s hand.

“He is stable, but still fairly pretty critical condition. He is being transported to the ICU right now.” Dr. Miller answered.

“How badly was he hurt?” Bruce questioned, struggling to keep himself from using his ‘Batman’ voice and glare on the doctor for more answers because not knowing what all was going on was beginning to drive him nuts.

“He had been shot three times, one in his right shoulder, one above his right hip, and one at the bottom of his ribs on the right side. The bullet that his shoulder went straight through, so it was a fairly easy fix. The one by his hip was still inside, but hadn’t hit anything vital and was easy to remove. The one that his ribs however, caused some major problems.” Dr. Miller started to explain, putting his hands in his pockets, “When it hit his lower rib, it shattered, to pieces.

Bruce felt like he had been punched in the gut when he heard that, his brain going into overdrive as all the worst possibilities that could happen with shattered bullets ran through his head, but did his best to ignore it and focus on everything else the doctor was saying.

“That’s the reason the surgery took so long. It took us a while to make sure that we got all the fragments and repair the damage they had done. One piece had hit his liver, one had nicked his right kidney and the rest hit several veins and capillaries causing massive internal bleeding.”

“But you were able to help him, right?” Bruce let the worry show even though it went against every instinct he had. He had always hid his emotions, knowing in his line of work as Batman would be dangerous if you let the emotions get the best of you, if you let them blind you. When it came to being Bruce Wayne, or ‘Brucie’ as the media called him however, he was seen as the playboy, philanthropist and doting father of the circus boy he took in 15 years earlier. He could show emotion in a situation like this.

“We’ve done all we can, but there was a lot of damage. We will know more in the next several hours. He is in the ICU so we can keep a close eye on him. We will take him down for some more x-rays and other tests in about 12 hours to see how he’s doing if he makes it as his condition is still extremely critical.”

“Wait, ‘if’?” Bruce felt his heart drop even more when Dr. Miller said that particular word.

Dr. Miller took a deep breath but didn’t look he had made a mistake and furthered explained, “Due to the extent of his injuries, it doesn’t look very good. I’d say at the moment, he has about 30% chance of survival. The longer he holds on, the higher his chances are.”

For a moment, Bruce didn’t say anything. It wasn’t the first time that Dick had been gravely injured, the billionaire still had the occasion nightmare about the first time his son had almost died, but to hear that your child was injured and could possibly die was something that no one ever got used to. After another minute of trying to process everything he had just learned, Bruce looked back up at the doctor and asked, “Can I see him?”

“Of course.” Dr. Miller quickly agreed, then paused and wondered, “Aren’t there other family members here though? I had been told by a nurse earlier that there was a group waiting to hear about Detective Grayson.”

Bruce looked back at the doors that led to the waiting room, wondering if he should go and tell the group of people who had been with Dick for the last several months what he had just been told. He quickly came up with a decision and turned back to the doctor, “I’ll tell them. I just want to see my son alone for a minute.”

“Alright, follow me.” Dr. Miller told him, then turned to led him towards the ICU.

The two walked together in silence for most of the small trip before Bruce recalled that when a person was in the ICU, only family members were allowed. He knew that he was allowed because he was Dick’s adoptive father, and that since Dick had become those kids’, Rachel and Gar, legal guardian, they’d be allowed, but he had no idea if the others could see him.

“Dr. Miller, some of the people here for Dick aren’t family, but they are close friends and are taking care of his charges. They can come see him, can’t they?” Bruce asked, causing the doctor to look back at him.

“The rule is family members, blood-related or legally related only when the patient is in the ICU.” Dr. Miller informed him,

“It’s just, I won’t be able to stay here for long, but I would like someone to be here for my son besides the teenagers he has taken guardianship over. His friends however are very trustworthy and I know Dick would be fine with them being allowed to visit him.” Bruce told him then stopped in his tracks. He waited until the doctor turned to face him before he added, “Please?”

Dr. Miller thought for a moment, then said, “Either you, or his legal charges have to be in the room if they are going to be in there. And only two people max in the room.”

“I will make sure they know that. Thank you so much.” Bruce responded.

“You’re welcome. Just don’t let anyone know about it.” Dr. Miller replied with a grin, then started walking again and Bruce followed right behind him.

After another few minutes, they both came to a stop in front of a closed door and Dr. Miller looked back over at Bruce as he said, “This is Richard Grayson’s room. I will let the nurses know that there will be visitors.”

“Thank you doctor.” Bruce said, his eyes drifting from the man to the door which led to the room where his son was.

“My pleasure Mr. Wayne. If you need anything, just let one of the nurses know.” Dr. Miller responded, then walked away to go back to work. After taking a quick but deep breath to brace himself, Bruce opened the door and entered the room.


	3. Christmas Miracles (Part 2)

The room was larger than Bruce expected, but he quickly saw why it needed to be. There were several machines surrounding the bed and all were in some way attached to the figure lying on the bed. Bruce almost didn’t recognize Dick with all the tubs and wires hooked up to him, but despite all that, he knew his son when he saw him. He felt sick at the sight, but forced himself to walk over to the right side of the bed. Once he came to a stop, he examined the young man.

The blankets and hospital gown covered most of his body. All that was really visible were his arms, neck and head. His arms though had several IVs attached and there was a tube going down into his mouth held in place by a strap going around his head. While Bruce was no doctor, he knew enough to know that Dick was not in good shape. The breathing tube alone meant that the young man couldn’t even breath on his own. There was only one other time that Bruce had seen his ward this badly injured and it still gave him the occasional nightmare. Once he learned that Dick had become a police officer before working his way up to detective, the thought of his son dying on the job without help from him, without help from Batman kept him awake some nights. He knew it was only a matter of time before this happened.

Bruce lifted a hand and pushed Dick’s brown bangs away off his forehead and away from his face. It had been two years since he had seen Dick, and even longer since he had actually comforted the former Robin in any way. Even before he left, the two had been becoming more and more distant as Dick started fight against his rules. Then after the incident with the Joker and Tony Zucco, their partnership officially ended and Dick left Gotham. Left him.

A part of Bruce wanted to start yelling at Dick, even though he was unconscious and wouldn’t hear him. He knew that Bruce disapproved of his desire to become a police officer. It was dangerous enough being a vigilante, he just had to go and make one of the most dangerous jobs for his career. He was sure that the younger man did it just to spite him. The billionaire kept his mouth shut though. Yelling at his injured, unconscious, wayward son wasn’t going to make things any better. Yelling at Dick when he was awake also didn’t work. He would just yell back.

The other part him wanted to hold his son tightly in his arms and tell him that he was here, promise him that everything was going to be okay, but dealing with anything that had to do with emotions and feelings was never his strong suit. So he remained quiet and stared at Dick’s face. He looked older, more mature, and tired. He hated seeing the person who used to be so happy, so easily excited, so clever and mischievous, so full of light look like this. It wasn’t right.

After another minute or so of staring at his son, Bruce leaned forward, pressed a kiss to Dick’s forehead, then stood up and walked away. As much as he wanted to stay with Dick, he knew that there were others waiting for news about the former Robin and they deserved to know what was going on and would also wanted to see them. With one last look at the unconscious figure in the hospital bed, he left the ICU room and started making his way back to the waiting area.

**2018TITANS2018**

The atmosphere in the waiting room had changed in the waiting room after Bruce Wayne arrived only to leave to get answers. Mostly everyone had gone back to sitting in their seats again. Except for Hank, who had chosen to lean against the wall instead. Before Bruce had come, the room was calm but filled with worry and fear. Now though, it was filled with a tense and anxious energy. Gar had started bouncing his knee, Donna was fiddling with her fingers, and every now and then, Hank would pace to the other end of the room. Rachel herself suddenly felt extremely impatient that she started playing with a loose thread on her jacket sleeve.

“He’s back.” Gar announced when he saw Bruce walking back toward the waiting room. Again, everyone stood up when the man entered the room and came over to them.

“I spoke with Dick’s doctor, a Dr. Miller. He was able to tell me Dick’s condition.” Bruce started before Gar interrupted, “So how is he?”

Bruce glanced over at the green-haired teenager before he responded, “He’s in pretty critical condition. He had been shot three times. One of the bullets had shattered and did a lot of damage. He’s in the ICU until he starts to recover.”

“So he’ll be okay?” Rachel questioned, needing to hear those words. Bruce however, took a deep breath and said, “It’s too soon to tell. It’s pretty serious.”

For a long moment, the group absorbed the news in silence, fear gripping all of them with thought that the person who brought them all together might not survive. Rachel broke the silence though when she turned her gaze back to Bruce and asked, “Can we see him?”

“Since he’s in the ICU, only family members are allowed, but I talked to the doctor and he said as long as either myself, or his wards are in the room, other can come in. No more than two at a time though.” Bruce told them, then gestured with his head for the others to follow him as he walked down the hallway and the group immediately walked behind him, practically on his heels.

Following Bruce down the hallways to Dick’s room, there was another change in the air. The anxiety was still there, but now the nervousness was taking over. Bruce didn’t tell them what they should expect when they entered the room nor did he really tell them how badly Dick was injured. He told them that Dick had been shot three time and a bullet had shattered, but he didn’t say anything else. He didn’t tell them what damage the bullets had done, nor did he really tell them Dick’s chances of survival was.

After a few minutes, they turned another corner and started walking towards the only door around. Rachel, quickly realizing that it was the door to Dick’s room, suddenly surged ahead of the group and walked inside without waiting for the others to catch up. Kory immediately went after her along with Gar, but before he could enter the room, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Gar turned his head to find that it was Bruce Wayne who had stopped him from going to see Dick.

Seeing his confused expression, Bruce quickly reminded him, “Only two at a time in an ICU room. Hospital rules.”

Gar turned his gaze back to the door, upset that he was going to have to wait longer to see the person that had become a mentor, friend, and father figure to him. He looked down at the ground and slumped against the wall as Bruce let go of his arm.

“Don’t worry Gar, we’ll go in as soon as Kory and Rachel are done.” Dawn comforted, putting a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. Gar nodded, but remained quiet as he waited his turn to visit the former Robin.

**2018TITANS2018**

Once she had entered the room, Rachel came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Dick on the bed, hooked up to the several machines surrounding him. A loud gasp forced her to take her eyes off her guardian and on the person who had apparently followed her into the hospital room. Kory. She didn’t even hear her come in. Noting the terrified look on Kory’s face, Rachel reached out and grabbed her hand. Though she didn’t look at her or say anything, she did squeeze Rachel’s hand in response and together, they walked over to the bed.

Rachel let go of Kory’s hand once they reached the foot of the mattress so she could go to the right side of the bed while Kory went to the left. It was so wrong to the alien, the sight of Dick Grayson lying in a hospital, needing all the IVs in his arms and a tube down his mouth. He looked so small, so young, so weak. So, so, human. Even though Dick was one of the few humans in their little ‘family’, he always seemed so strong. At times, it didn’t seem like he actually was human. Now, it was painfully obvious. He wasn’t invincible. He could actually die.

Kory felt a sudden urge to cry, but she forced it back. If she started crying, she’d scare Rachel. So instead, she grabbed Dick’s limp hand and brushed his hair back. Kory then leaned down to kiss his forehead and whispered, “It’s going to be okay Dick. You’re doing to be okay.”

When Kory raised her head, she saw that the expression of fear and worry was gone from Rachel’s face, replaced by pure concentration. Then, she noticed how Rachel was gripping Dick’s arm in both of her hands and realized what she was doing.

“Rachel, no. We told you that you can’t.” Kory whispered in an angry tone.

Rachel raised her head, looked around the room before she said quietly, “I’m only doing a little. Just enough to make sure he’s going to be okay, not enough to make anyone suspicious.”

When Kory continued to give her a disapproving stare, she leaned over Dick’s unconscious form and added, “I’m not going to let him die Kory.”

The alien stare softened a little when she heard that. She turned her gaze down to Dick’s face, then nodded and told her to be careful. While Donna, Dawn, and Hank had told her not to, for reasons that Kory agreed with, but seeing Dick like this more than changed her mind. As long as Rachel was subtle about it. If she wasn’t, if she got caught, Dick was going to be quite angry, at everyone who let her do this. Kory ignored that thought though, hoping, believing, praying that Dick would be okay and that Rachel knew what she was doing.

**2018TITANS2018**

After about ten minutes, Gar and Dawn were finally able to go see Dick. Rachel and Kory had come out looking worried and a little drained, especially Rachel, so Gar had a feeling whatever he was going to find behind the door wasn’t good. However, he had been around medical equipment and people lying on beds and tables almost dying several times before. He was Chief’s assistant after all. He would have been no good to the doctor if he was skittish around blood, IVs and tubes. Seeing them surround Dick though was another story.

With as much experience he had, Gar had never actually seen his friends in a hospital bed, possibly on death’s door. Rachel, she wasn’t dying when she agreed to let Chief try to take away her powers. The only people he had seen in a situation somewhat like this were his parents. And they had died. He couldn’t lose his new family, he couldn’t lose his new father figure.

Slowly, he approached the bed with Dawn right behind him. Once he reached him, he started talking.

“Hey Dick. It’s Gar. And Dawn. She’s here too.” Gar told him in a rushed and nervous tone. He didn’t understand why this was so hard. He had talked to Chief’s patients when they were unconscious before, even though he didn’t know them. He didn’t want them to feel like they were alone. But this was difficult and he didn’t really understand why. Dawn didn’t say anything about Gar’s obvious awkwardness. She just gave him a smile, took a step closer to the bed, then turned her gaze to Dick.

“Hey. I’m pretty sure we told you to be careful when you went to work this morning. Of course I’m not really surprised that you didn’t listen to us. Don’t worry about the kids. Donna, Kory, Hank and I will take good care of them. You know that. So you just get better and get your butt back home. Alright?” Dawn told him with a tone that was somehow a perfect mix of light-heartedness and seriousness.

After she said that, she looked back over at Gar and the smile left her face. She didn’t say anything. The blonde just gave him and nodded and walked to the other end of the room. Gar looked over his shoulder as saw that Dawn was just standing in the corner. It took another minute for him to realize that she was giving him time and space with Dick without leaving the room.

Gar turned his attention back to Dick and stared. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do or say. Anything he could think of saying sounded stupid. After what felt like hours, Gar hesitantly reached his hand out to grip Dick’s carefully, like it was made of glass or something. He then raised his head to look at the detective’s face, instinctively hoping for a response of some kind though he knew it wasn’t likely. Still, the teenager felt a pang of disappointment nonetheless at the lack of response.

“You’ve got to get better Dick. You’ve got to.” Gar whispered, still staring at Dick’s face. When there was still no response, he lowered his head, let go of the man’s hand, and walked towards Dawn.

She gave him a sad smile, but said nothing as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gently led him out of the room.

**2018TITANS2018**

Bruce went again next, but this time with Donna. Besides Hank, she was the only one who hadn’t seen Dick and Hank said that she should go first. While they went in to see their friend, the rest of the group decided to go down to the cafeteria to get some food. They had been so worried and had been waiting for news for so long that they completely missed supper.

Once they entered the room, Bruce stayed by the door while Donna went straight to the bed. Since he had already seen his son and Donna hadn’t, he wanted to give them space. If he could, he would’ve stayed out in the hall, but this was the only way the doctor would allow his friends to see him. So he stayed as far out of the way as possible.

Donna glanced over at Bruce when she approached the bed. When she saw that he was staying by the door, she smiled slightly then turned her gaze back to Dick.

“Hey Boy Wonder, looks like you got yourself in trouble again. Not that surprising to be honest. Actually, I’m surprised this took so long to happen. You always were a trouble magnet. But just like all the other times, you’ll pull through this too. I know you will.” Donna said, giving the unconscious man. She then stood up straight and just stared at him, as if waiting for him to wake up even though she knew he wouldn’t regain consciousness for while.

“He misses you, you know. He never talks about it or says anything about you, even when Gar asks him about Batman, but I can tell. I can see it.” Donna told him, keeping her eyes on Dick.

“I miss him too.” Bruce quietly admitted, looking down at the ground.

Normally, he would’ve kept his mouth shut. It was already difficult enough to let his emotions show and be open with the people he loved. It was one of the many things that caused tension and fights between him and Dick. He had built up walls and kept them up ever since his parents died in that alley. He rarely ever lowered them. Now though, the sight of his son in the hospital bed, the fear that he might die and without knowing how sorry Bruce was for all of their fights, how sorry he was for not properly being there for him and how much he hurt him. And to possibly lose him at Christmas, the season that’s so happy and hopeful for most people, Dick’s favourite holiday, the holiday that Bruce and Dick’s fights reached the boiling point, it left his defenses weak.

“Wait, do those kids know,” Bruce started as he raised his head, suddenly realizing what Donna had said.

“No.” Donna interrupted, “No, they don’t know your secret. It probably wouldn’t be too hard for them to figure it out since they know who Dick is, along with Jason, but no. None of us have said anything.”

“Why do they even know about Dick and Jason?” Bruce questioned, slipping into his Batman voice.

“There were some people after Rachel. Dick did what he had to in order to protect her. As for Jason, I have no idea. I wasn’t there when they met him.” Donna answered, still not looking at him.

Bruce frowned at that. He didn’t know much about the two teenagers that Dick had taken in. There was no record of Garfield Logan after his parents had died of a strange disease and everything he found on Rachel was normal up until her mother was murdered. Then she ended up in Detroit where she was taken into custody after throwing a brick at a police car. That was when she met Dick only for them to disappear off the grid. After a while, they both reappeared with Dick as not only her legal guardian, but Garfield’s as all.

And Kory, there was only slightly more on her than Gar, but that was only because she had apparently killed a man at a gas station and attacked some police officers. He wasn’t exactly sure how, but somehow, Dick ‘found’ evidence that it was a gas leak that had caused the fire at the gas station which killed that person that Kory was accused of killing. With the other cops though, that just somehow disappeared. He had no idea how, but it did. Dick was always a good detective, that didn’t surprise him nor upset him. What did upset him was that he had trusted these strangers that were dangerous with his secret identity.

Ever since he had decided to let Dick become his partner, become Robin, he insisted that he kept his identity a secret from everyone. Only people that he trusted knew who they were. Besides Donna, Hank and Dawn, the only people that knew their identity were Clark Kent, Diana Prince, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Barry Allen, and Wally West. And Bruce didn’t even want Roy and Wally to know who they were, but Dick had decided to tell them himself without Bruce’s knowledge or permission. He insisted that they were trustworthy, but after that, he made it clear that he wasn’t to tell anyone else.

Jason was no exception to that rule. He wasn’t all that surprised that Dick had decided to tell other people that he was Robin now that he wasn’t living with him or working with Batman. But Jason should know better. He knew that Jason had left to go see Dick about two months ago when the members of Haly’s Circus were being targeted and killed. His new Robin hardly talked about what all happened nor did he mention meeting Dick’s new friends. And he definitely didn’t say anything about telling others about his identity. He was going to have to have a talk with Jason when he got home.

Before he could actually respond to what Donna had told him, a loud beep from his phone alerted him of a new text message. Bruce quickly pulled the device from his pocket to see who had texted him and what they wanted. He wasn’t all that surprised to find that it was from Jason, but the message’s content made him want to kick himself.

_‘You might want to call Alfred to give him an update. He’s already dropped two dishes on the floor.’_

When Bruce had gotten the call from Donna about Dick, he had quickly told Alfred and Jason what had happened, then ran to the Batplane and took off without another word. He didn’t even wait to see how they had reacted to the news. And he hadn’t given them any update whatsoever. He should’ve remembered to call them to let them know what was going on, especially Alfred. Jason hardly knew Dick, but Alfred had helped Bruce raise him. He actually had a better relationship with the former acrobat than the billionaire did. And the fact that he had actually dropped some dishes was a testament to how worried he was.

“I’ve got to go call Alfred, let him know what’s going on.” Bruce informed her, knowing that if he left the room, Donna would have to as well.

“Okay.” The former Wonder Girl replied, finally turning away from the bed to walk towards him,.

As she reached his side, Bruce said, “I will have to be heading back to Gotham as well.”

Donna looked a little surprised, then responded, “I thought you would be staying longer than an hour.”

“I would like to, but there was a breakout in Gotham earlier and we still haven't rounded them all yet and it's always busier during the holidays.” Donna nodded in understanding at that, but Bruce continued, “Plus, I doubt Dick will want to see me when he does wake up.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Donna told him. Bruce stared at her, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he moved to walk towards the door, then stopped.

“Could you keep me posted? About Dick I mean?” Bruce wondered, keeping his back to her. To everyone else, his voice would’ve sound calm, cool, and collected, but Donna could hear the worry and nervousness in his tone.

“Yeah, of course.” Donna quickly agreed, knowing that despite all of his faults, Bruce did love and care for Dick like a father does for his son.

“Thank you.” With that, Bruce exited the room with Donna right behind him.


	4. Christmas Miracles (Part 3)

_One week later…_

“Just one more step and we’re in the hall.” Gar said with an encouraging smile, looking over at Dick who was right beside him with his arm around the teenager’s shoulders. Supporting Dick on the other side was Hank, though he was taking more weight than Gar was as he was taller and stronger as they both helped the still healing detective up to the apartment. Not to mention, it was his right arm on Gar’s shoulders and with Dick’s wound in his right shoulder, it hurt to do much with it.

“We really should’ve moved into a building with a working elevator.” Kory commented from her spot behind the boys, watching them carefully for any sign that they were about to stumble so she could catch them if they did.

“There’s nothing wrong with walking up a few stairs Kory. It’s good exercise. I could do it by myself if you let me.” Dick replied with a determined, slightly cocky yet strained voice. Though he’d never admit it, his injuries were starting to throb and all he wanted to do was lie down on a couch or bed.

When he woke up in the hospital six days ago and was reminded of what had happened that led to him being there, his first question was, when could he leave. Dr. Miller wasn’t overly optimistic that he would be released this early. Apparently, the bullet that had shattered had done a lot of damage and the doctor wanted to make sure he was healing properly. However, he was healing, a lot faster than anyone expected. Dick was pretty sure that Rachel had done something, but she hadn’t admitted to anything and he didn’t want to ask with a bunch of strangers around. And when it became clear that he was well enough to leave, he had no desire to really confront her. In fact, he actually wanted to hug and thank her because now he was home with his family on Christmas Eve.

“Welcome home, finally.” Donna greeted from the open door to their apartment with a smile.

“Don’t look at me. These guys were the slow pokes.” Dick said, grinning as he gestured to Hank and Gar with his head.

“Oh I’m sure.” Donna responded, then got out of the way so they could walk inside.

Dawn and Rachel were waiting for them right inside. Dick pulled away from Hank and Gar so he could go over to them in the crowded space, but Rachel had rushed over and wrapped her arms around him before he could take more than two steps. He smiled, wrapped his own arms around her and laid his cheek on her head.

“I’m glad you’re back, and you’re okay.” Rachel whispered, almost snuggling her head into his chest, squeezing him tightly. It hurt a little, but Dick didn’t care.

“Me too.” Dick told her, then pulled away a little so he could see her face. She smiled at him, then took a step back so Dawn could hug him as well. They had all been visiting him as often as they could while he was in the hospital, especially once he was put into a normal room. When Dr. Miller told them that he was going to release their friend, but they went home to clean the apartment and decorate it for Christmas before Dick got home.

“Come on, let’s get you situated before you fall over.” Dawn said, then started to lead the former Robin towards the living room.

“The place looks great guys.” Dick commented, looking at all the decorations that had been put up, especially at the Christmas tree.

“We expect you to help us actually put them all up with us next year.” Rachel told him with a serious expression though her eyes were light-hearted.

“That sounds fair.” Dick replied, giving her a smile.

“Oh, by the way, you got a package in the mail today.” Donna informed him loudly from inside the kitchen.

“Who’s it from?” Dick shouted back, sitting down on the couch with a pained grunt. Dawn sat down on one side of him while Rachel sat on the other side. Hank came to stand behind the couch, specifically behind Dawn. Gar sat down in the chair on the other side of the room in front of the others.

“No idea. There’s no return address.” Donna said as she entered the room, a small, wrapped box in her hands.

Dick took the box from her and stared at it. Donna was right, there was no return address on it. The only address that was on there was theirs, but Dick instantly recognized the penmanship. He quickly brushed off the confusion and shock and ripped it open. Then, he picked at the tape keeping the box closed and opened it. He pulled out a plastic bag and found it was filled with his favourite cookies that he knew Alfred had made. Seeing a folded up piece of paper taped to the bag, he pulled it off and opened it up.

_'I am pleased to hear that you have recovered though I do hope you intend to take better care of yourself. Merry Christmas Master Richard. – Pennyworth'_

“Gotta love Alfred.” Dick murmured with a smile as he put the note on top of the box. He went to put the box on the coffee table, planning on sharing the cookies the Wayne family butler sent him, when he heard a jangling noise. He looked inside the box again and found a pair of keys on a key ring.

“What are those for?” Gar asked, craning his neck for a better look at what was in the detective’s hand. Dick didn’t answered him even though he knew exactly what they were. He had recognized them the second he saw them, because they had belonged to him for years.

“I gotta get down to the garage.” Dick announced suddenly, pushing the box to the side and standing up.

“Wait what?” Dawn asked, looking at him in confusion, as was everyone else, but before she or anyone else could even process what he had said, he had gotten to his feet and was slowly making his  
way towards the door.

“Dick, wait!” Kory called out as she got up and ran after him. Dick didn’t stop though, he kept moving like he was on a mission. Since he was injured and moving slowly, it didn’t take long for her to reach him, but he didn’t stop, so Kory just put his arm around her shoulders and helped him down to the garage under the building.

“You can’t go down to the garage! You’re going to pull your stitches!” Donna shouted, rushing up behind them.

“I’ll be fine Donna.” Dick told her, throwing her a grin.

“You’ve already pushed it enough as it is.” Donna responded, walking behind them as they made their way out of the apartment.

“You know me Donna. I live to push the limits.” Dick reminded her, continuing on his way with Kory by his side. The photographer though paused and stared at the two figures. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw Rachel, Gar, Hank, and Dawn coming towards her.

“Should we try and stop him?” Gar asked.

The corner of Donna’s lips curled up as she shook her head once and answered, “We wouldn’t be able to, even if we all ganged up on him. He’s more stubborn than Batman sometimes.”

While Rachel and Gar had no idea if Donna was telling the truth about that as they had never met Batman, they did know that Dick was one stubborn person. Wanting to make sure that he would be okay with climbing up and down the stairs again, as well as being curious as to what was going, they all left the apartment and followed the injured cop and alien down to the garage.

It took longer than Dick would’ve liked, but he knew he was just lucky that he actually got down to the underground garage without falling down. Of course if he had, his friends would’ve caught him, but then they probably would’ve made him go back upstairs to rest without knowing what was waiting there for him. But with Kory’s help, he made it to the garage in one piece and found exactly what he was expecting in the nearly empty parking lot.

“Oh my G*d. It’s the Porshe!” Gar shouted in excitement as he ran towards the vehicle. Dick took his arm off of Kory’s shoulder, but stared in shock while she went ahead with Rachel towards the car to check it out while the rest stood beside Dick.

“Gotta love a Dad with money huh?” Hank commented and Dick felt his weak and slightly shaking muscles tense. He had been wondering ever since he saw the package from Alfred, but Hank now confirmed it. Bruce was most likely aware of what happened, and in order for him to know that, either he was keeping a lot closer eye on him than he realized, or someone had called him.

Apparently sensing something was wrong and knowing what it was, Dawn grabbed Hank’s hand and said, “You know guys, we should get back upstairs and make some hot chocolate and pick out a Christmas movie.”

“I vote for A Christmas Carol.” Rachel said as she came back over to Hank, Dawn, Donna, and Dick.

“No, we should watch Home Alone.” Gar protested.

“Come on, we can talk about it upstairs.” Dawn told them and led the way back to the apartment with Hank.

Dick didn’t pay them any attention as his focus was completely on the car, but when Gar was about to walk past him, he stopped and said, “This was underneath the windshield wiper.”

The detective looked down and saw the paper in Gar’s hand. He took the offered note and waited until everyone but Donna was gone, then looked down to read it.

_'This belongs to you. Merry Christmas.'_

Unlike Alfred’s note, it wasn’t signed, but again, Dick recognized the writing. Lowering his arm, he said, “You called him, didn’t you?”

Donna waited for Dick to turn around to look at her, having somewhat expected this, but when he didn’t, she decided to explain.

“When we got to the hospital, the nurse asked us if you had any family because you had no one written down to make medical decisions on your behalf if you were unable to do it yourself. She said that you were hurt pretty bad. He was the only person Dick. So yes, I called him. With how fast he got there, I’m pretty sure he took his ‘special’ plane. He managed to find out what had happened to you and got the doctor to let us into your ICU room. He only stayed for a couple hours at most though. Said there were things he had to do in Gotham, and I’m pretty sure he knew that you wouldn’t be very happy if you woke up and saw him there.”

Again, the former Wonder-Girl waited for Dick to look at her, but he still kept his gaze on the car. He didn’t say anything either and it was starting to worry her. Growing up, the two were close friends. At times, she somewhat considered him a brother and he considered her a sister, they told each other everything. What happened between him and Bruce though, Dick had kept to himself and now, with the billionaire getting involved a little, her curiosity was going into overdrive.

“Dick, what happened with you and Bruce?” Donna asked, walking up to stand him, just by his shoulder, “You two have fought before, but it’s never been this bad.”

“A lot of things happened Donna. A lot of things that I don’t want to talk about.” Dick finally spoke, his voice extremely quiet.

Donna remained silent for a moment before she put her hand on his good shoulder and said, “Come on, let’s go back upstairs.”

After another few seconds of staring at the car, Dick nodded. He turned around to face his friend and let her help him back up the stairs towards their apartment.

**2018TITANS2018**

Bruce stood in the doorway to Jason’s bedroom. It was almost midnight, almost officially Christmas day. He had sent the teenager up to bed about an hour ago, but he had stayed up to get some more work done. Now that he was finished, he was about to go to bed himself and decided to check on Jason first. Seeing that his new Robin was fast asleep, Bruce shut the door and continued down the hall to his room.

Beep.

The CEO pulled his phone from his pocket when he heard the noise. There was only one beep which told him that it was just a text, but who would be texting him this late on Christmas? When Bruce saw who the message was from, he felt his heartrate speed up a little.

_'Thanks for the car. Merry Christmas.'_

Smiling at the very first communication that he had received from Dick since he left, Bruce quickly typed out a reply.

_'You’re welcome. Merry Christmas.'_

As much as Bruce wished things between the two of them were better, that his son would be here celebrating the holiday with him, Alfred, and Jason, he knew that they both still had a long way to go. But still, it was nice to be able to hear from him personally instead of through Alfred and Donna. He wasn’t sure if they would ever be able to fix their relationship, but, it would be nice if they could. He’d never admit it of course, but he did regret his part in their separation, and he truly did miss him. Despite it all though, Bruce knew that his son was safe and with people he loved and who loved him. That was something at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone’s wondering, while Dick did text Bruce, he actually called Alfred to thank him and talk to him a little bit on Christmas Day. No way would he not contact his ‘grandpa’ after this.


	5. Nightwing

“Alright, good job everybody.” Dick declared as their training session came to an end. Not long after they defeated Trigon, they had decided to keep up with the training that they had started when they were still dealing with that creepy family that had been after Kory. It was a good way to help Rachel and Gar learn about and control their powers, keep those still doing vigilante work in shape and turned out to be a good bonding thing.

As they all started to group together, Gar started turning from his usual tiger, resulting in Rachel yelling, “Gar!”

Everyone else glanced over at him, wondering what she was talking about, then immediately turned away as Gar, completely naked again, rushed for the stack of boxes that he usually kept his clothes hidden behind and shouted, “Sorry!”

Dick, Kory, Donna, Dawn, Hank, and Rachel exchanged somewhat annoyed glances and rolled eyes while they waited for Gar to get changed so they could head back to their apartment building. They had taken to doing their training in an old warehouse on the edge of the city. They didn’t want to risk damaging the building that not only did they live in, but several other innocent people. It was working out pretty good, except that Gar kept having to bring a bag of clothes or had to take the time to take his clothes off and put them back on after he shifted and it was starting to get a bit annoying, especially for Gar. They kept having to get new clothes from him.

“Um guys?” Gar called out after a minute.

“What?” Kory asked in a bored tone.

“I don’t have any clothes here.” Gar revealed, effectively getting everyone’s annoyance to go up a level.

“Why didn’t you grab any before you came here?” Donna questioned, clearly having been under the impression that he should have made that a habit by now.

“Because you guys attacked us when we weren’t expecting it. And I thought that I still had some here.” Gar answered, his head peeking out from behind the boxes.

“If we ever are attacked, they aren’t going to give us a warning Gar. We all need to be prepared for anything.” Dick defended his decision. While they hadn’t been hunted since they defeated Trigon, it was good to be prepared for anything.

“Well, since we’re done, can someone please get me some clothes?” Gar then asked.

Donna pulled off her ankle length coat as she approached the boxes and held out to him as she said, “Here, just wear this.”

A hand quickly reached out to grab it, then a very seconds later, Gar came out wearing the coat. Looking over at Donna, he said, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, but you’re washing it once we get home.” Donna informed him, to which he nodded in agreement. He walked over to the group and upon seeing the expressions on their faces, he stopped and asked, “What?”

“We need to find some way for you to have clothes while you shift. This is getting annoying.” Hank told him.

“Plus, it’s kinda illegal.” Dick then chimed in.

“Well, are you able to make clothes that will stay on when I change into a tiger or any other animal?” Gar wondered.

“No.” Hank answered while Donna and Dawn shook their heads. Dick however, didn’t respond in any way for a moment and had a thoughtful look on his face.

“I think I know someone who might be able to though.” The former Robin said, causing everyone to look over at him.

“Do you think he’d actually be able to do something like that?” Donn asked, knowing who Dick was talking about.

“I think it wouldn’t hurt to try. Plus, I think he’d like the challenge.” Dick replied with a grin that actually made Gar a little nervous.

**2018TITANS2018**

After a quick call to Lucius Fox, an email explaining everything they know about what the Chief did to save Gar, his powers, and a sample of Gar’s DNA mailed to him, it only took two weeks for a package to arrive. Gar opened it with excitement and found a purple and black body suit. H wasn’t sure what kind of fabric it was made of, but it seemed to stretch which was a good thing. He quickly rushed to change into it then came out into the living room where Dick, Kory, Donna, and Rachel were waiting.

“So, what do you think?” Dick asked as Gar walked around the room to see how the suit fit.

“I love it, but will it work?” Gar wondered, looking over at the others.

“Only one way to find out.” Donna told him. Gar nodded, but looked a bit apprehensive.

“Don’t worry. When you change back into whatever animal you decide to shift into, we’ll turn around so we won’t see anything if it doesn’t work.” Kory assured him.

“Thanks.” Gar said, before he rubbed his hands together and added, “Okay, here we go.”

The teenager’s body turned green and curled up as the sound of bones and muscles quietly filled the air. Within a few seconds, the human was gone and green, golden retriever dog was in its place. The dog stared up at them for a few seconds before he started to shift back and everyone turned around so they wouldn’t see him naked if the suit had ripped apart like his other clothes. They didn’t move until they heard Gar shout, “Yes! It works!”

Everyone turned back to see that the shapeshifter was a human again and the uniform was still on. Gar had a big and wide smile on his face, clearly happy that he now had a set of clothes that he could wear while changing whatever animal he wanted to without ripping them. Then he suddenly dropped the grin and asked, “Wait, does this mean I have to wear this outfit all the time since I can turn into an animal at any time?”

Dick looked over at the others, then turned back to Gar and said, “Yeah, I think so. You can wear clothes over top of it, but if you shift into an animal, you’ll probably still tear those.”

“Great.” Gar grumbled to himself.

“You know Gar, it kinda looks like a uniform, like a hero suit.” Rachel said, trying to cheer him up. With a hopeful expression, he looked up at her and said, “Really?”

“Really.” Rachel confirmed with a smile. Gar smiled widely, then suddenly dropped it.

“Well, since we aren’t allowed to use our powers in public or be superheroes, it doesn’t really matter.” Gar responded, shooting a small glare at Dick.

“Gar, we’ve talked about this.” Dick did his best not to groan. Ever since their defeat of Trigon, the shapeshifter had this idea that they could become superheroes like he and Donna used to be. Hank and Dawn were the only ones who went out crime fighting on a somewhat regular basis which didn’t help when Dick told Gar ‘no’.

“But it doesn’t make sense. You guys were fighting crime when you were kids. We’re teenagers, with powers.” Gar started to argue, gesturing to him and Rachel, “And you guys even made your own special team.”

“You did?” Kory questioned, looking over at Dick. Having only been on earth for several months, she didn’t know much about this planet’s heroes.

“A bunch of us sidekicks kinda made our own team, to fight criminals without our mentors. We called ourselves the Titans.” Donna explained to the alien.

“Yeah, and we almost got ourselves killed so many times that I lost count.” Dick was quick to remind her before he looked back over at Gar, “So, sorry for not wanting you two get yourselves killed. We’re responsible for you and letting you guys go out fighting people is dangerous and stupid. I don’t want to talk about this again.” With that, Dick stormed out of the room.

**2018TITANS2018**

Dick stared down at the traffic below from his spot on the roof, hands on the railing. While some people may feel uncomfortable being up so high, he was the exact opposite. He felt at home up in the air, looking down at the world below. He had already been up here for hours, having come straight here after getting mad at Gar about the whole hero thing but he felt no desire to leave.

“You know, you’re being a little hypocritical.” Donna said as she walked onto the roof. Dick took a deep breath but didn’t reply.

Moving towards him, she continued, “I mean, you started going out into the streets of Gotham as Robin when you were ten years old.”

“That was different.” Dick objected, not looking at her.

“Really? How?” Donna questioned, coming to a stop about ten feet away from him.

“It just is.” Dick answered, knowing that it was a terrible answer but he didn’t know how to explain what he was really thinking.

“Is it about how the Titans ended?” Donna continued forcing the subject. Again, Dick stayed silent, but this time, it gave Donna her answer, especially when she saw him clench his fists tightly on the railing.

“Dick, that was a long time ago. We’ve all grown up, all changed. It won’t be like that. Especially since that it’s only us and with Kory, Rachel, and Gar. Would it really be so bad?” Donna wondered, walking forward to stand right beside him.

“I just want to keep them safe. And I don’t want them to turn out like me.” Dick replied, looking down at a couple who was walking down the street.

“What do you mean?” Donna asked worriedly.

“Uncontrollable anger, and the mindset that as long as you wear a mask that you can do whatever you want, that you can deliver your own brand of justice.” Dick explained, still not looking the girl who was practically his older sister.

Donna put her hand on his back in an act of comfort, then said, “Dick, I know you want to protect them, but don’t you think it might be more dangerous to hold them back?”

“What do you mean?” Dick asked, finally turning his head to look at her.

“Dick, you went after your parents’ killer, before you even knew Bruce was Batman. And when you did find out, you still went after him when Bruce told you not to. You didn’t listen.” The former Wonder Girl brought up.

“I remember.” Dick told her.

“And it was only when Bruce realized that you weren’t going to stop that he agreed to let you be his partner so he could keep you save on the streets. You really want to wait until Gar and Rachel are going out by themselves before you agree to let them fight bad guys?” Donna wondered with a knowing grin.

After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, Dick looked back down at the world below and said, “But, what if,”

“You have me, and Hank and Dawn and Kory. We’ll help make sure you don’t turn out like Batman.” Donna interrupted him, knowing exactly what he was worrying about.

“If this goes wrong,” Dick started after another minute or two of silence.

“I’ll let you say ‘I told you so’. But you won’t, because as you well know, I’m always right.” Donna responded with a smile.

“Older, smarter, prettier yeah I know.” Dick elbowed her arm and grinned back at her, “But one day, I will get to say ‘I told you so’.”

“Keep dreaming bird boy.” Donna said with a slight scoff.

**2018TITANS2018**

After talking with Kory, Hank and Dawn, along with Donna, they all came to an agreement that Rachel and Gar were old enough to make their own decision about whether or not they wanted to fight crime like they did and were trained enough to start. They also came up with a list of rules and conditions to make sure that the kids stayed safe because that was the most important thing. They then waited until the next day, which was a Saturday so they’d all be home before they told them their decision.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Gar asked as he stood up off the couch, shaking a little in excitement.

“We aren’t doing anything extremely dangerous and you two have to listen to orders. I know you two are powerful and strong, but we’ve all been fighting crime for several years, and know a lot more about it than you two do. So as long as you guys agree to that, then yes, I’m serious.” Dick responded, nodding his head as he did. Gar stared at him, then when he saw that the detective was being completely serious, he started jumping up and down excitedly yelling ‘yes’ as loud as he possible could, making everyone laugh.

After a full minute of that, Gar settled down a little and said, “Okay, first things first. Hero names. I want to be Beast Boy.”

“Really?” Hank asked, thinking the name wasn’t really a good one.

“I can turn into any animal, any beast, and I’m a boy. It makes sense. Plus, no one else has that name.” Gar explained, the wide smile still on his face. No one could really argue with that.

“What about you Rachel?” Dawn turned the attention to the girl sitting beside her on the sofa on the other side of the living room.

“Raven. I want to be called Raven.” Rachel replied to the shock of everyone. After they defeated her father and sent him back to his dimension, she acted as though she wanted nothing to do with anything that was related to him. It had taken her at least two weeks for her to accept her powers and start training with them. No one expected her to want to use the name those that wrote the prophesy had given her.

“You sure about that?” Kory wondered as everyone stared at the youngest member of their group.

“Yeah, if I’m going to be using my powers to help people and fight crime, I need to accept who I am and control it.” Rachel answered with a firm voice, making it clear that she was sure about this.

“Okay. Raven, I like it.” Gar agreed with her choice. When everyone else nodded, Rachel knew that they also agreed with her choice. She then looked over at the only alien in the group.

“Kory, what’s your name going to be?” The purple-haired girl asked.

“Starfire.” Kory immediately answered. When she saw the curious looks the others gave her, she said, “That’s the name the Warlords of Okaara gave me. I want to keep it.”

“Sounds perfect.” Dick commented. Kory looked over at him and smirked.

“So what about you?” Gar asked Dick, turning around to face him.

“What about me?” Dick wondered, though he knew what Gar was asking about.

“What hero name are you going to use? You destroyed your Robin suit and said you didn’t want to be him anymore.” Gar explained, completely unaware of how his words were pushing on Dick’s still healing wounds. The former Robin wasn’t upset with him though. He still hadn’t told anyone about what happened that made him leave Gotham and made him want to stop being a vigilante. And Gar did raise a fair point. If they were going to restart the Titans and he was going to help lead them, he would need a new hero identity.

“I don’t know.” Dick answered honestly as he thought it over.

“Oh.” Gar sounded a little disappointed when he heard that, but then he suddenly perked up and said, “We could help you. Are you still wanting to be a bird of some kind? Of course you are, you’re the first Robin. You started the whole bird thing so let’s see. You can’t be Robin, Raven, Hawk, Dove, or Batman obviously, but there are lot of types of birds. What about Eagleman? Or Owlman? Maybe just Eagle or Owl. That sounds better.”

“Gar.” Dick cut off the teenager’s rambling when he stopped to take a breath, an amused smile on his face.

He waited until he was sure that he had the green-haired boy’s attention before he said, “Thanks for wanting to help, but I’d like to think about it first. I might have an idea actually.”

Later that night, Dick sat at the kitchen table, papers covering the surface in front of him. They were filled with old drawings and notes that he had made back when he was a kid, but they were all basically the same thing. The drawings were of a black suit with blue spread out on the chest like a bird spreading its wings. Looking at them now brought a small grin to his face. He hadn’t thought about any of these or had seen them in years. He was actually surprised that he still had them and had packed them. But he was glad he did because they were the first thing he thought of when Gar pointed out that he needed a new hero identity.

“You still up?” Donna said in surprise as she entered the kitchen, turning on all the lights as she did so.

“Yeah. I didn’t wake you, did I?” Dick questioned, looking over his shoulder at her.

“No, just had to go to bathroom, then I saw the light.” Donna assured him as she walked over to the table. As she came to stand behind him, she put a hand on the back of his chair and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Going over some stuff.” Dick replied, turning his gaze back to the papers in front of him.

“What is all this?” Donna wondered as she picked up one of the drawings.

“Clark used to tell me this story, about this Kryptonian who was cast out of his family and became a vigilante. He took the name of one of the Kryptonian gods, Nightwing. I loved that story. I was obsessed with it.” Dick told her. He had never really told anyone about that, not even his closest friends, not even Bruce. It was something that he and Clark shared, but now, given everything that happened with his adopted father and Robin and restarting the Titans, the name Nightwing kept running through his head.

“You want to call yourself Nightwing?” Slowly, Dick nodded. Donna smiled and said, “I like it. It suits you.”

**2018TITANS2018**

Bruce glanced down at his watch as he walked to Lucius Fox’s office. He wasn’t supposed to be in the office on Sundays, but something had come up, like it always did. So, he came in and did his part as quickly as possible so he could go back home. Jason had the upcoming week off school and he was taking him to the Wayne cabin up in the mountains so they could go skiing. They were leaving the next morning and the last thing Bruce wanted was something else to come up that would have him glued to his computer screen for the entire trip. Better to get everything done now. He just had to talk to Lucius about Wayne Enterprise’s new drone then he was good to go.

“Hey Lucius, is the,” Bruce started as he walked into the man’s office without knocking. He stopped talking the second he saw a fearful expression on Lucius’s face as he typed something quickly on his computer before calming down somewhat.

“What’s going on?” The CEO wondered with a suspicious tone. Lucius was one of the very few people who knew he was Batman, knew Dick had been Robin and that Jason was now, and who Batgirl and Batwoman were. He was the one who helped design and make their uniforms and equipment. There were no secrets between them. Or at least, he didn’t think Lucius still had any.

“Nothing, just working on a special project is all. What can I do for you?” Lucius somewhat answered before changing the subject. Bruce knew there was definitely more going on but also knew that Lucius was not the kind of person who told other people someone else’s secrets. It was why he let him in on his own secret. So for now, he let it slide, planning to do some investigating later.

“Just wondering if you finished that updates to our new drone. The board wants to book a date to unveil it already. They’re giving me a headache.” Bruce responded, his annoyed and frustrated tone making Lucius chuckle which was exactly the goal.

“They always do, but unfortunately not yet. I found some flaws in the code that I need to clear out. Then I’ll give one of the drones the update and test it. It’ll be a while yet.” Lucius told him.

“Great.” Bruce muttered sarcastically before adding, “Thanks though, have a good week.”

“You too.” Lucius replied as Bruce walked out of his office. Once the door was shut, he speed-walked out of the building and to his car, wanting to get home as fast as possible.

Alfred found him down in the Batcave at the Batcomputer only an hour later. He had been coming to inform him that dinner was ready, but when he saw what the man was doing, he stopped.

“Are you so bored Master Bruce that you have nothing better to do than hack into your own company? Because there is a young boy upstairs who would undoubtedly love some of your attention.” Alfred informed him, coming to stand about two feet behind him.

“It’s not really hacking since it’s my company.” Bruce pointed out, “And I’m taking Jason to the mountains for some skiing tomorrow. He’ll have my attention then.”

“Lucius Fox’s files? Don’t you already know everything he works on?” The British butler asked, sounding as confused as Bruce was feeling at the moment.

“Not everything apparently. He’s making suits, three of them. Suits for someone other than Jason and I.” Bruce answered, a little offended that his friend hadn’t told him about any of this.

“Then who for?” Alfred asked the question that the Dark Knight was trying to find the answer to.

“I don’t know yet. None of them are the same size, and two are for boys while one is for a girl.” Bruce said as he pulled up the images for Alfred to see.

“Have you thought of simply asking Mr. Fox who they are for?” Alfred wondered, knowing that sometimes Bruce preferred having proof before asking. He just didn’t think that he would do that with someone he trusted.

“He was working on them when I entered his office and immediately hid them. He doesn’t want me to know. And Lucius is not the kind of person to share secrets if someone doesn’t want him to.” The billionaire reported, now getting ready to go into Lucius’s emails to see if he could find the answers there.

“Well, since it’s clear that you will be down here for a while, I will save your dinner for you.” Alfred told him, then turned around and walked back upstairs to the Manor.

Bruce internally groaned at the mention of dinner. He had been so focused on what Lucius had been hiding that he lost track of time. It wasn’t the first time it had happened by far, nor would it be the last, but he missed dinner almost all week, wanting to make sure everything was done and dealt with so he could make sure that he wouldn’t be interrupted while he was gone with Jason. He would have all of his attention then. But now, now he felt beyond shocked when he recognized the email address of someone who had been emailing back and forth with Lucius for the last several days.

As he read through them all, he mumbled, “Oh Dick. What are you doing?”

Once he had finished going though all the emails, now knowing what it was about, who the suits were for, the design and make of them, and figuring out what Dick was planning, Bruce grabbed his cellphone and called Lucius.

“Hey Lucius. I’m going to get straight to the point. I know you’ve been in contact with Dick and I know you’re making him suits.” Bruce informed him, keeping his voice as monotone as possible, not wanting to betray any of the emotions running through him at the moment.

 _“Did you hack into my files?”_ Lucius asked with a slightly shocked tone.

“When a co-worker of mine, one whom I trust with everything, is acting a little suspicious of mine, then yes I do.” Bruce answered honestly.

 _“Okay, so you know. Did you call me to yell at me for talking to him? Because he reached out to me.”_ Lucius got ready to defend himself, not the Bruce was surprised. Ever since his adopted son left Gotham, he made it clear he didn’t want to talk about him at all.

“I’m not going to yell at you. But I was wondering if you could do something, as a personal favour.” Bruce replied.

 _“Why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this?”_ Lucius groaned, making it clear that he would do what was asked of him.

“It’s nothing big I promise. I just need you make an addition to Dick’s new suit.” Bruce told him, looking at the schematics of the suit that was clearly for his son. When Lucius then asked what he wanted added, Bruce told him and though Lucius wasn’t so sure about it, he agreed.

It wasn’t until two weeks later that Bruce heard anything about the suits, or about Dick and his friends. He and Jason had a good few days at the mountains, then came back to Gotham and returned to their normal activities of work, school, and crime fighting. Then one morning as he came into the dining room for breakfast, Jason called out, “Hey Bruce!”

“What?” Bruce asked, sitting down in his chair at the table.

Jason came over to him with a newspaper and said, “Check it out. _‘The Titans have Returned’_.”

Bruce took the paper his ward handed him and sure enough, that was the headline to the San Francisco newspaper, accompanied by a very blurry picture of six figures in the dark apparently fighting some gang or something like that. As he read through the article, he paused when it mentioned their names. He knew Wonder Girl, Hawk, and Dove of course. He and Dick had fought together with them numerous times, though he didn’t really approve of the latter two, but there were three new names that he didn’t recognize. Beast Boy, Raven and Nightwing. With the information that he got from the emails Dick sent to Lucius, he deduced who Beast Boy and Raven were, leaving only Dick to be the one to take the last name.

“‘Nightwing’. Where did you get a name like that from?” Bruce wondered quietly to himself before skimming the article. A proud smile grew on his face when he read about the Titans success before he closed the paper and continued to finish his breakfast.


End file.
